News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-10-06
BONANZA OIL FORTUNES.
Notable Ups and Downs in the Pc
trOIcum BuSineSS-One Case.

james S. McCray is now living a
Franklin, seven miles from Oil City
McCray was a farmer, owning larg
farm on top Of Oil Greek hill, near Pc
troleum Centre, Yenango county, til,
very place where McKeown began tx
work with pick and shovel The earl,
oil excitement surged down Oil Creel
valley, bat in those days it was not be
heved that oil could be found by drill
ing on the hills, and so Mr.. McCrny at
tended to his bees aud cows on the sum
NIT and saw his neighbors in the valley
growing rich almost in n night. After
few years it was found that hill was
no bar to Il big oil we'll, provided the
sand rock under it was of the right qual-
ity, and the McCray farm proved to be
on the belt One thousand dollars an
acre was the bonus which Mr.. McCrav
received, and an eighth, and in some in
stances quarter, Of the oil. At that
time oil was worth So and $6 a barrel.
instead of 60 cents, as now. Wells
were drilled on portions of the McCray
farm almost as close as the delricks
could be set together, leaving room for
wagons to drive between them. For
SOlilC lliIlC 4tIi- 4fISOIS1 . IitCOI1it lIOlll
the wells on his farm was So n minute,
night and day. At the same time a
couple Of the McCray children, of a
business turn, had erected an apple
S and on the roadside lealing up the hill
to the wonderful farm, and were catch
ing odd II ckels from the crowds of curl
ous sight-scers.
The great geysers in the valley of Oil
Creek had been exhausted for some
time, and Mr.. McCray believed with
many others, that oil was bound to al
vance in price. He sold enough of his
production at $5a barrel to meet current
expenses and enjoy life, and Mr.. Nc
Cray had a great deal Of fun for twelve
month Or more, but he invested great
deal of money in building monster tanks
and storing his oil. The market began
to sag, largely from the great produc-
ton Of the McCray farm, and Mr.. Nc
Cray concluded to tank his oil and wait
for better price. He kept storing his
productions until he had 100, 900 barrels
i'll tank near his bonanza farm at PetrO
leum Centre. The market got below s.
q barrel. Mr.. McCray was offered 81. 70
a barrel for his stocks, but held out for
$5. He said that he had set that figure
on the oil, and he would not take less.
He had plenty of money without, and
unless some one came along with half
million dollars for his 100, 900 barrels he
would leave it in tank. It was not long
until the market broke to 81, then to SO,
AMI still Mr.. McCray continued to enjoy
himself and hold his oil for 50. His
wells played out, as all wells do sooner
or later. and his income as an OIL pro
ducer dwindled to very fine point.
McL'rBy Was not airrewd man Of tho
world, but quite the reverse, and was t..
prey of all kinds of sharpars and conf
dence men. 1t Is one Of the legends of
the oil country that Il special and goT-
geous train wasrroyided to take Mr. Nc
Cray to New York City, where ne was
roped into scheme by which he lost n
big pile of money. 1t is said that on
this trip Mr.. MoCray, the rich oil farmer
from Pennsylvania, had the felicity of
making the acquaintance of the late Jim
Fisk. Mr.. McCray never received So
for his oil. After holding it four or five
years and losing great deal by evapOr-
atiOIf and leakage one of his largest
tanks burst and the contents ran into
the creex and were lost. He continued
to carry the balance along for years, and
finally sold what had not leaked out of
the tanks for 81 barrel. This money
soon followed the hundreds of thousands
that had preceded it, and the man whose
income was at one time s. a minute has
lost his famous farm, and, at the age of
63, is again poor man.